Malaysia reimburses S'pore $102.8 million for costs incurred in terminated HSR project
SINGAPORE – Malaysia has reimbursed Singapore about $102.8 million for costs incurred in the failed high-speed rail (HSR) project, after the bilateral agreement was terminated.
In a joint statement on Monday (March 29), Singapore’s Transport Minister and Malaysia’s Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) said the two countries have finalised the settlement of compensation for the terminated HSR project.
Malaysia has made a payment of $102,815,576 (RM320,270,519.24) to reimburse Singapore for costs incurred for the development of the project, and for a further extension of the initial two-year suspension.
“The two countries reached an amicable agreement on the amount following a verification process by the Government of Malaysia. This amount represents a full and final settlement in relation to the termination of the Bilateral Agreement,” said the joint statement.
“Both countries remain committed to maintaining good relations and fostering close cooperation for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the two countries.”
In a Facebook post, Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said: “I am glad that we were able to close this chapter amicably, without affecting the good bilateral relations between our two countries.
“Looking ahead, there are many areas that we have opportunities to cooperate on. These include the issues Minister Vivian Balakrishnan discussed with leaders in Malaysia last week, such as the restoration of some air travel, which MOT will be very involved in, and also commuting via the Causeway.”
On Jan 1, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Muhyiddin Yassin issued a joint statement to announce the termination of the HSR project, after both countries failed to reach an agreement on changes proposed by Malaysia by the deadline of Dec 31 last year.
Mr Ong had said in Parliament on Jan 4 that with the project’s termination, Malaysia has to compensate Singapore in accordance with the HSR agreements, noting that about $270 million has been spent by Singapore on the project so far.
He had said that this compensation will include various abortive costs such as for consultancy services, design of infrastructure and manpower to deliver the HSR project.
It will not include land acquisition costs as the value of the land can be recovered, he said then.
The planned 350km rail line, which both sides agreed to build in 2013, was to have run from a terminal station in Bandar Malaysia in downtown Kuala Lumpur to a terminal in Jurong East.
The HSR was slated to have seven stations, and would have cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes, compared with over four hours by car and about five hours end-to-end by air.
Join ST’s Telegram channel here and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Source: Read Full Article
